THE COLOR OF JUSTICE: THE JURY COURT BETWEEN PRESCRIPTED AND (PRE)-PRESCRIPTED LAW IN THE ENGINE OF STRUCTURAL RACISM

Abstract

The Jury Court, often praised as a symbol of popular sovereignty, reveals contradictions when analyzed through the lens of structural and institutional racism. Although constitutionally framed as a democratic space, its daily practices expose racial selectivity, reinforced by the predominantly white composition of juries and the moralizing narratives mobilized in court. Research indicates that seemingly neutral legal discourses reproduce historical stigmas, criminalizing Black and peripheral bodies. The silencing of racial issues, combined with the naturalization of poverty as a marker of dangerousness, produces a justice system that legitimizes inequalities. Using a qualitative and interdisciplinary approach, this study combines documentary analysis, legal ethnography, and intersectional critique to highlight how language and courtroom performance function as exclusionary devices. The aim is to challenge the notion of impartiality and propose an anti-racist perspective that repositions the jury as an instrument of justice and human dignity.